The Complicated Story of Content Creation

Revenue, YouTube, Controversy and You.

Hey creators, welcome to the 2nd edition of the Official GawkBox Newsletter, where we keep you caught up on the ins and outs here at GawkBox — including what we’re up to, what’s new with the site, and whatever’s on our collective mind.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably no stranger to the intrinsic twists and turns that come with the roller coaster ride of creating content as a career. It’s natural; creating videos on YouTube is a brave career choice — after all, your revenue sits at the intersection of YouTube Street and Google Avenue — at a place called Adsense. That’s why when YouTube’s prodigal Swedish son expresses a bit of casual racism on his channel, the infrastructure quivers a bit. Whether you believe that Felix’s statements represented a genuine hate for a people or not, the media sure did. Disney sure did. Other major Adsense advertisers were bound to follow suit, and follow suit they did. In the wake of this, advertisers investigated. When they found that their ads were being played before videos that could be considered as condoning terrorism, everyone became very aware of a pressing issue that’s becoming more pressing by the day — there’s simply too much content on YouTube to filter and monitor it all. So, as Google enacts tools to allow advertisers to control where their ads appear and YouTube hurries to cut monetization for smaller channels and (seemingly) random videos, creators begin to notice that they’re making less money. Much less, in some cases.

Pardon my oversimplification; the issue is hopelessly vast and sprawling.

In any case, like a caped vigilante, our job here at GawkBox is to patrol the streets of YouTube and keep up consistent revenue the only way that we know how — with our utility belt full of sponsored tips. We’ve got a stockade of new and exciting gadgets (features) that we’re developing in our secret cave (Seattle office). Aaaand I’ve grown tired of this metaphor.

We’ve been working tirelessly to grow GawkBox into the mighty beast that it’s destined to be; even now, a cacophony of clicks and keyboard ticks fill our ears as we all bravely persevere through our set of goals. What’ve we accomplished since we’ve last talked? Well…

• A Bold New Ad Server: From the ashes of our old ad serving platform rises a shiny new one designed to increase speed, reliability, targeting, caching, and more. It’s a bunch of back-end stuff on our end, but if you’ve visited a GawkBox profile recently and noticed more apps, quicker response, and an unshakable sense of stability, you’ve got the engineers to thank.
• New Apps/Advertisers: We’ve heard your pleas for more apps, creators, and we’ve done something about it! From here on out, enjoy the addition of CSR Racing 2, DoorDash, DomiNations, Talking Tom Gold Run, and Zynga Poker to your respective GawkBox pages. We’ve been running metaphorical sprints to provide your fans with more means to tip you, and it’s a better time than ever to get your fans to donate! We’ll have more advertisers in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes open for that. Got ideas for apps or advertisers you’d like to see? There’s a solid chance that we know ’em. Drop me a line. zak@gawkbox.com.
• New Creators: Our live creator count has roughly doubled in the past week and a half. As you guys continue to crush it in your earnings, more and more talented creators are noticing. We’ll be continuing our daily Creator Spotlight, as well as posting bits of info on our subreddit as often as possible, so be sure to subscribe to that.
• Fresh Explainer Video: We’ve been in talks with talented voice actors and visual artists to create a sharp new way to explain GawkBox to the masses. Send it to your technologically un-savvy parents!

Boom. Big things are happening as this snowball rolls on, and there’s always more to come.

As I write this on the 18th of April, 2017, (did you do your taxes?) we sit at the cusp of some real game-changing addons and features that are just waiting to be released. Before you know it, you’ll be seeing some hot developments flying at you. What should you expect, exactly? Well…

• Fan Accounts: Yes, the time has come at long last. Soon, fans will no longer be anonymous as they rush to tip their favorite creators. With the addition of fan accounts, we’re making the first step in building the groundwork for a huge series of new developments. This month, fans will be able to log in with their email addresses and create dedicated profiles. Next month, they’ll be able to participate in leaderboards on creator’s profiles. The month after that, we’ll give them the ability to shoot lasers from their eyes and light fires with a snap of their fingertips. *ahem*. That last one might take a bit longer.
• The Podcast: Ohh yes. Finally, we come to the final piece of the puzzle for this week. We’ve been researching the YouTube community in-depth lately, as I’m sure you can tell, and we think we’re ready to go toe-to-toe with some of you creators — live. We’ve been in talks with some of the most fascinating people, and we aim to share their opinions and thoughts with all of you as well. It’s set to be a casual romp through the eventful and interesting lives of those who have dedicated their time to entertaining the community, and we hope you’ll listen. Here’s the first episode with Sam Harry, AKA Chaotic.

Wanna be on it? Cool, I’d love to talk to you. Hit me up at zak@gawkbox.com and we’ll discuss it!

Okay, that’s it for now. We hope that you’re as excited as we are. Got feedback? Ideas? Have you stumbled upon this newsletter out of context and been met with a wall of confusion? support@gawkbox.com is your answer. there’s always someone on the other end of that email account, I swear. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dan leave this office…

Happy Creating, and talk to you soon,

Zak